Prayers for Critically Injured Thomas Peters – Lungs seem better

Thomas was involved in an accident yesterday evening and has sustained major injuries. He is awake, responsive, and in stable but critical condition. Family and friends are with him.

Pray for his family, too, including his father, Edward Peters, and Thomas’ wife.

The first time I met Thomas was in Rome in 2011 at the Vatican/Blogger meet-up, which is pictured above. I complimented him on looking so handsome in his white suit and he blushed and said, “it’s the only suit I own.” He was very sweet, and very self-effacing.

Prayer has power. Let us pray. I’ll keep you posted as more news comes down.

UPDATE I: From Edward Peter’s Facebook page:

Thom can move his arms, docs are discussing the best treatment for his neck injury. Immediate concern is for the considerable water in his lungs. We are astounded at the expressions of prayers and support. Thom & Nat know about it. Please keep them up. Love from us all, EdP.

UPDATE II: In his last update, Edward Peters notes that Thomas’ condition is still critical but “stable” and that his lungs seem better. His wife and family are with him and he is aware that people are praying for him.

UPDATE III: Comments are moderated on this site, so please know if the only way you can wish someone well is by adding a self-gratifying punch in his face — which a few have done — I’ll be deleting those comments, not because I care whether you expose yourself as spiteful and self-serving, but because they’ll just encourage responses that will take attention and energy away from where it is needed. For God’s sake, if you can’t do better than offer “good wishes” laced with a dose of malice (added only because your ego needs to add it) then perhaps its time to stop thinking about how “ugly” someone else is, and worry about how ugly your own heart has become, and the idol that ugliness serves. Take a hint: when a man is in critical condition, it’s not about you.

I can’t believe i’m reading this…yesterday I was scanning through my FB feed and reading my usual Catholic blogs and out of the blue he popped in my head. When that kind of thing happens to me i have learned to take that as a message that the person who popped in my head needs prayers. Please keep us updated. Thanks!

Paul Snatchko

Prayers for Thomas and his family — for a speedy and full recovery for him and peace of mind and heart for his folks.

KyPerson

No! I’ve been reading Thomas’s site for a long time now. I will offer a rosary for him tonight.

Richard W Comerford

A pilgrimage to Our Lady of LaSalette for this gentleman’s intentions.

God bless

Richard W Comerford

Hal Watts

I am a gay man who does not often agree with Thomas. However, as a fellow human being, I wish him the best,

If you check our websites, such as http://joemygod.blogspot.com/, you will see some of our community’s outpouring of sympathy and support for this young man.

Sam_Handwich

Be sure to include a plea for his deliverance from a debilitating obsession with homosexuality.

Christina

I will offer my hour of Eucharistic adoration tonight for his recovery.

JoAnna Wahlund

Prayers for you too, Sam.

JoAnna Wahlund

Praying!

Gestly

I am gay and needless to say am opposed to Peters politics. But my heart goes out to him inreservedly — no human deserves to suffer like this. I sincerely hope a full recovery for him and his family.

MeanLizzie

Thanks, Hal, I did stop by in order to respond to someone who really thought this moment was all about him and his grievances, and who also put out some erroneous information about me (I’m not a nun and my last name being Scalia shouldn’t be any more of a justification for assumptions and prejudice about me than someone’s being gay should be justification for making assumptions or feeling prejudice toward them.

I totally get that we all don’t get along in this world, but — as I tried to say over at that site (my comment is apparently rejected, so it goes) when a man is in critical condition, it’s not about you or me. It’s the time to say — as many on your thread over there have — “I don’t always agree with him, but I wish him well”.

Even better to just say “I wish him well”, which leaves out the qualifier we all use when we’re just a little too cowardly to omit a disclaimer that lets ppl know that WE know the other guy is not what we’d call “right thinking”. Because God Forbid we just wish someone well without stating our positions and risk being thought out of touch or just not angry enough. Reading comments there, I DO think his good wishes for Peters (who btw, is not a friend of mine; he and I disagree too, so there — I’ve added my “qualifier” and have now earned the “coward” thrown my way) were sincere. But I deleted them b/c “I wish him well and hope he thinks about how awful he is to other people” served the commenter, not Peters, and as I said in my update, it would have invited a raging debate about gay marriage instead of prayers for a young man who needs them, badly.

Not too many of us are champions of compassion — I know I’m not — but there’s a time and a place for the second half of of what that commenter called “good wishes.” The time for them would have been AFTER Peters has made a recovery sufficient to “thinking about his life”

Fiestamom

So sorry to hear this. Will add him to Adoration and Rosary intention.

Miriel

Praying for Thom and Natalie. Unimaginable.

Guest

To add some reference to you last paragraph, gays aren’t praying to an evil idol. Just wanted to clarify, I know some people believe our blood is green and slimy but it’s not.

Michael O’Keefe

I just offered an Ave for him again. Every time I see this I’m doing it.

MeanLizzie

You should read my book, and then you’d perhaps understand that the “idol” I was referencing was the idol we make of our grievances and our anger. But then again, we can make idols out of anything, even our sexuality or the rubrics and rituals of religion. That’s why I wrote the book, to get us thinking about all the ways we create idols that take us away from God and each other. Btw: http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/10/the-tolerance-disconnect Just to clarify. I know some people believe our blood is green and slimy too. But it’s not. We do a lot better when we actually try to get to know people beyond caricatures, don’t you think?

paylly

My prayers go out to a true disciple of Christ. All my best Thomas.

Maura Shea

He is in my prayers. I will be praying for him especially at Mass tonight.

Melissa

I pray for a complete recovery, wisdom for his doctors, and strength for him and his family during the long road ahead. Spinal injuries are ALWAYS a long road.

Angela

Praying hard for a full recovery. We need more young people like him who aren’t afraid to stand up for the Church and her teachings.

http://www.slowlyboiledfrog.com/ DavidHart

I have spent a great deal of time criticizing Thomas over marriage equality. None of that means a thing right now. We push the pause button on the culture wars.

I am hoping for his swift and full recovery.

Inge Loots

I have my differences with Thomas and his style, too, but for Pete’s sake, lets pray for him. You don’t want this to happen to anyone.

Inge Loots

I am gay too, but I support Thomas’ stance, that gays cannot marry, which coincides with the Church’s stance on this. I just wonder why on earth everybody mentions their sexual orientation here. Like that has ANYTHING to do with his condition…

ADMIN REPLY: Someone has “flagged” your comment as “offensive”, I guess in an attempt to have you silenced for thinking the wrong thing. Which is just sad.

DPierre

So you’re using someone’s misfortune to promote your web site?

Good grief.

Father Robert Behnke

My prayers are to Jesus Our Lord for Thomas and his family, that they may continue to serve the Church so well–the Body of The Lord Whom they love so obviously.

Billiamo

I don’t think that’s what he’s doing.

Billiamo

I’m so relieved he can move his arms. A very good sign.

rcdcr

But, you did.

Micah Murphy

The community at Stand with the US Bishops is keeping Thomas in our prayers.

Gestly

Mr. Peters entire livelhood revolves around the politics and morality of sexuality. I mention my sexual orientation to make the point that compassion extends beyond labels and politics. I truly mean it when I say I “love thy enemy” as I know we are all flawed human beings doing what we believe is right and good.

http://coffeeandacardigan.blogspot.com/ Louise

Sorry Hal, but most of those comments are absolutely hateful. Yikes. Where’s the tolerance?

Virilene

God’s will be done.

Claude Jacques Bonhomme

I wish him a return to health. I certainly disagree with his politics and his dominionist religiosity, but it doesn’t diminish my sympathy for him and his future quality of life.

As an atheist, I cannot pray for him, and certainly don’t believe the accident is retribution for anything… I just wish that medical science can help him recover and, if that cannot happen, that it can provide relief.

Claude Jacques Bonhomme

It is not his web site.

Araceli

Praying for Thomas.

Dominicanae

Thanks for keeping us updated about Thom, Elizabeth. My Facebook feed has exploded with posts, but none with much information. You said he could move his arms — does that mean he can’t move anything else, or just that the doctors were the most worried about him losing arm movement? Do you happen to know? Ed Peters’ own updates have been pretty short.

larcolant

I read a neck injury somewhere. My daughter incurred a very serious neck injury two years ago. 1% of women who sustain her injury die. Well she did not die nor is she physically handicapped. It”s amazing what can be accomplished with today’s medicine and prayers. Let’s hope and PRAY for a speedy recovery.

Beth in Illinois

Prayers coming from our corner of the world. Fight the good fight, Thom!

Joseph

How sad! I used to enjoy reading his column at American Papist before it was removed, or absorbed by Catholic Vote. I’ll be praying for a full recovery.

FW Ken

To disagree with a person can be a compliment, on the assumption that you think them worth considering. In fact, I can’t think of anything about which I disagree with this young man, but agree or disagree, he’s a man worth reading. May the Lord be with him and his family.

Catherine de Aragon

praying for him. May the good Lord will heal him soon.

Dale

Three years ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s wife and daughter were in a terrible car accident. Mrs. Reid suffered a broken neck and broken vertebrae.

Thomas Peters, in his Catholic Vote blog, mentioned the accident and asked for prayers on behalf of the Reids.

Peters did not need to mention the accident, nor did he need to solicit prayers for the Reids. His response was charitable, and it was profoundly human. Too often today we forget the humanity of our political opponents.

I think those who oppose Peters for his political views should not forget his humanity. We all deserve compassion in our time of suffering, the same compassion he showed three years ago.

Gestly

Really? I read all the 230 comments on the JoeMyGod blog and most were decent and compassionate. And you will see, the few negative comments were downvoted severely. I think most agree this tragedy transcends politics or personal agendas.

Hal Watts

No,it’s not my website, and I’m not promoting anything, other than the fact that I, and so many others, are worried sick about the health and future of this obviously talented and brilliant young man. I pray that he and his family knows that God himself weeps with them during this horrible trial. I ask God to help us learn from the suffering of others, and also from the trials that we will all inevitably face.

FranRossiSzpylczyn

Sending many prayers of healing and hope to Thomas and his family, on this feast day of St. Camillus, a saint oriented to hospitals and care.

KyPerson

I said my rosary for Thomas last night and will continue to pray for him today. Please keep us updated.

Inge Loots

Yes, and I happen to be very happy that some people take the time and effort to help their fellow faithful Catholics with same sex attraction to feel home in the Catholic Church. Being gay doesn’t mean one automatically disagrees with Peters’ stance.

Therefore I find it really weird to say “I’m gay, and needless to say I oppose his politics, but my heart goes out to him.”

This is why I replied with “I am to, but a happy Catholic one who happens to agree with Peters on this point.”

Patrick Roddy

St. Camiilus, please.

KyPerson

Please keep us updated. I am asking the intercession of Cardinal John O’Connor, Pierre Toussaint and Father Emil Kapuan.